Blog by the game research group

Our students’ 2017 thesis works, part 2

In a recent pilot study, it was revealed that certain players of Pokémon Go did not account for the game while asked to specify the games they played regularly, although they had previously mentioned that they play the game daily. This paper will explore those player’s perception of Pokémon Go in aim to understand why they did not account for the game. This study uses a series of interviews of the participants to explore how they perceive the game. The interviews are analysed thematically using predefined themes and the results suggests that the reason to why the game was not accounted for might be related to the pervasive nature of the game.

Taffazoli, H. and Tiedemann, T. Confined and Condemned: The Impact a Restricted User Interface Has on the Player Experience in Survival Horror Games (fulltext)

In this study, we will explore how a restricted user interface affects the player experience in survival horror games. To test this, we created a digital survival horror game. The restricted user interface in the prototype resides in the player controller who has access to five different user interface elements. These elements are health, revolver, flashlight, compass and a watch. The results showed that the restriction and making the user interface diegetic did affect the player experience. This was presented through dividing the participant’s experiences with the prototype in four categories: Challenge, Analytical, Safety and Control. Participant’s enjoyed the added challenge from the restricted user interface which also helped promote the horror experience. As a drawback, a restricted user interface resulted in participants having a harder time learning the game and understanding certain game mechanics and elements.

See also part 1. (The listed theses only include ones that former students have uploaded to our public repository.)